In Paris, Chang Topples Lendl in Five Sets

By NICK STOUT, Special to The New York Times

Published: June 6, 1989

PARIS, June 5—
Michael Chang said a prayer to make the cramps go away and then summoned all the courage of his 17 years to defeat top-seeded Ivan Lendl today in a spellbinding match at the French Open, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Chang, the 15th-seeded player, was so obviously in pain in the fifth set that there was serious doubt whether he could finish the match. His serves were feeble and he kept the ball in play only by resorting to soft lobs. Keeping a bottle of water with the nearest ballboy, Chang seemed on the verge of collapse, and his cramps were so bad that he could not sit down during the changeovers.

But in the end, he painstakingly stayed with points until he had a chance to drive home a winner. He was also the lucky recipient of many unearned points because of inexplicable errors by Lendl. 'I Was Surprised'

''I was surprised that I was able to hang on so long,'' said Chang, who is from Placentia, Calif. ''Both my thighs were cramping. I just tried to hang on for as long as I could, and knew that if the Lord wanted me to win, I'd win.''

With the defeat, the 29-year-old Lendl, who won the Australian Open in January, lost his chance of winning the Grand Slam this year. ''He showed a lot of courage and deserves credit for it,'' said Lendl, who won the French Open in 1984, 1986 and 1987. ''When you get cramps, it's very painful and it's almost impossible to play.''

Lendl began to lose his grip on the match as he served with the score tied, 3-3, in the third set. He sent a backhand into the net, giving Chang a 4-3 lead, and lost the next game in the same way to put Chang ahead, 5-3. Then, after seemingly endless rallies that brought the players to deuce three times, Lendl sent a forehand past the baseline and lost his first set of the tournament.

In the fourth set, Lendl had break points in the first, fifth, seventh and ninth games, but squandered each of them. The seventh game was decisive. Ahead in games by 4-2, Chang was serving with the score at 30-40, but survived when Lendl's forehand went long. The players went to deuce four times, then Chang won the advantage on a point Lendl thought he had won just inside the sideline. The umpire upheld the line judge, but Lendl continued to protest. The umpire then awarded a penalty point to Chang, giving him the game and putting him ahead, 5-2. Lendl held serve to make it 5-3, but Chang won the set on his serve when a forehand by Lendl went into the net. Soft Lobs, Then Winners

The fifth set of the match will not soon be forgotten.

Chang broke Lendl's serve on yet another netted forehand to take the first game. Serving at 15-30 in the second game, he lured Lendl to the net with a drop before nailing down the point with a hard passing shot. Then Chang started lifting soft lobs, one after the other, and it seemed as if the two were in a pregame warm-up. Very gradually, Chang maneuvered Lendl out of position, then he fired a winner to his opponent's backhand corner. He won the game on the next point when another Lendl forehand went long.

Chang was drinking a lot of water and began to stall between points, which drew a warning from the umpire. After Lendl won the third game, Chang did not sit down during the changeover, but ate a banana and drank more water. A Break by Lendl

Chang served the fourth game and barely kept the ball in play. Lendl broke him easily, and it appeared that the end was near. But in the fifth game, Chang stayed with the points and finally broke serve with a backhand winner. Then Lendl broke back to make the score 3-3.

In the seventh game, Lendl made a series of errors against his increasingly feeble opponent. He squandered a chance to win the game at 40-30 with a wide forehand. Then Chang scored on a clean forehand winner and a hard backhand crosscourt shot to take a 4-3 lead.

In the next game, serving at 30-30, Chang stunned his opponent with an underhand serve. Lendl returned it weakly, but Chang was ready and got the point. ''I knew I had to try something,'' Chang said. ''When I'd go up for a serve, I'd cramp.'' Chang won the next point on an error by Lendl.

Lendl then served, and Chang won the first two points with backhand winners. Then Lendl hit an ace. Chang won the next point on yet another well-placed backhand.

At 15-40, Lendl delivered his first serve long for a fault. The crowd was roaring, and Lendl appealed to the umpire for two serves, but to no avail. Chang moved in to receive well in front of the base line. Lendl delivered, the ball skimmed the net and landed three feet too long for a double-fault. The match was over after 4 fours 38 minutes and Chang, the youngest male player ever to reach the French Open quarterfinals, lay on the clay for several seconds before getting up to savor one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.